Group B Strep

Click here. Read this article. It's amazing.


Group B Strep is a bacteria that occurs naturally in the bodies of 1/3 of the population. It isn't harmful to any adult. In 1 out of 4444 cases, a baby born to a GBS+ mom will develop a lung infection. To combat this, the practice of giving antibiotics by IV during labor, to any mom who tests out GBS+ at 36 weeks of pregnancy, is now nearly universal in the United States. The crazy thing is that the number of babies infected with GBS is the same, with or without the antibiotics.

I wish I'd known this seven years ago. I would have refused both of the GBS tests I've ever taken. I tested positive with both my kids. With Erin, I had antibiotics during labor. With Orren, I did not. (Honestly, avoiding the antibiotics was one reason I was so glad to get there as late in labor as I did. I knew that in other countries with lower infant mortality and morbidity than the US, they don't give antibiotics during labor, and I didn't want it either. IV's scare the shit out of me and totally destroy my ability to concentrate during labor.) Anyhow, GBS+ both time, one baby with antibiotics, one without. Would you like to guess which baby was healthier? Right. Orren. Mr. All Natural, no antibiotics, no interventions, no monitor, no nothing. He was infinitely healthier right from the start, than Erin had been. Was Erin the way she was because of the antibiotics? I don't know, but I know they didn't help. I know I did not need them. I just wish I'd known it then.

I won't ever have to worry about it again, though. With Orren, I took my last GBS test. Alyson doesn't believe in it, and after some reading, neither do I. I also like the suggestions in the article I linked at the top, for promoting healthy body chemistry, and preventing the growth of GBS bacteria. Those are practices I will incorporate into my daily life so that maybe for once, I will not have GBS. If I do or if I don't, though, it doesn't matter. I won't have antibiotics, and I will have a healthy baby. I like that I won't be tested because on the tiny off-chance that we are a hospital transfer, they will not hook me to an IV if there is no positive test. Since I have tested positive twice, the odds I will test positive again are pretty high, so I like not having that hanging over my head. I'm protected from that particular intervention, come what may.

I urge all pregnant moms to decline the GBS test, and get the antibiotics monkey off your back. I warn you that not only do OB's insist on this, but at least some CNM's do as well, even if you are delivering in a non-hospital setting. I would have had antibiotics at the birth center if I'd gotten there in time. Don't take my word for it, though. Read up, do your homework, and whatever you do, PLEASE look beyond the mainstream publications. What you find will surprise you.